If you think that social media is just useful for keeping in touch with friends and family – then you’re making a big mistake.

The reality is – social media is a hugely powerful marketing tool that could be massive for your business. You’d be foolish to ignore it.

In this article, we’re going to look at the benefits an active social media account can have for you and your business.

Social media as a marketing tool

It used to be difficult to reach out to both existing and potential customers before social media.

Now it’s easy!!

An active and compelling social media profile for your business creates a two-way communication street with not only existing customers but also new ones. When someone “likes” your brand on a social media platform like Twitter or Facebook – they’re giving you a huge boost.

By Identifying with your brand and saying they “like” it – they’re putting their name to something you’re doing.

Social media can be a great way for your business message to grow “virally” – without costing you much (or anything) from your marketing budget.

By liking you, your followers are helping do a substantial amount of marketing legwork for you. All of their friends and family see that they’ve liked you, and that makes them potential customers too. This sort of marketing power was previously unheard of before social media grew in prominence.

You shouldn’t underestimate the effectiveness of social media as a marketing tool for all kinds of businesses.

When someone “likes” you on social media, they aren’t just passively viewing an advert – they’re going further than that. They’re making a positive statement about you and your business.

This way of maintaining and growing relationships online has only been created with social media. You’ve now got a way to communicate directly with people who already like your brand and a way to reach out to more and more new people.

Before social media, you could have sent mailouts to existing customers. Even ignoring how much cheaper sending a quick tweet is when compared to a load of physical mails. And also ignoring that it’s much easier to get someone to “follow” your social media account than collect they’re a physical address.

After you sent the mailout – that’s normally where it ended.

People don’t go and show their friends and amazing leaflet they got through the door unless it’s really good. But with social media, they do help to spread your word for you. Even if their friends have never heard of your business, they’ll get alerts when someone likes you – or they’ll see their friends retweet you.

That means social media is both cheaper and more effective as a marketing tool. Some argue that it wins on almost every count when compared to older marketing methods.

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter give even small businesses increased marketing power to spread their word virally at a fraction of the cost. Reaching these many potential customers used to be difficult for small businesses to achieve at all – let alone at such a low cost. Now it’s cheap and easy.

Social media improves brand loyalty

If someone’s already taken a step to “like” your brand – they’re already switched on to your message.

That means they’ll be much more likely to react positively to anything else you’ve got to say. Don’t take them for granted and continue to offer them value for showing loyalty, and they should continue to reward you.

Make your social media followers the first place you release special offers, new products, and ask for reviews.

Don’t just bombard them with adverts – offer them something exclusive and valuable like special offers and discounts. The more people you can get to like or follow you, the more your message and brand will grow to a wider audience.

An active and engaging social media presence helps improve brand loyalty and spread the message of your brand without costing the huge marketing budget this sort of power once would.

Try offering special contests or other events to keep your followers engaged and active, and you’ll find more and more people start to follow.

You might start with just followers who’ve previously shopped with you, but this’ll grow to more people and more potential new customers. When you start getting followers who previously wouldn’t have heard of your business – that’s when you know you’re onto a winner.

How to increase your social media following?

If you’re just starting to try and grow your social media presence, there are a few key tips you need to remember.

Firstly – treat your followers with respect and offer them value for following you. Don’t simply spam them with useless adverts.

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That means offering them something special and unique. Whether it’s exclusive offers, special contests or unique content. You don’t have to give away too much, but make people feel valued and they should reward you.

You’ll also want to actively promote your social media accounts in other parts of your business. Don’t make it difficult for people to follow you or find your social media profiles.

If you run a store, make sure your social accounts are displayed prominently. Print the links on all receipts. Get your staff to mention it to every customer. Offer rewards and incentives for signing up.

You’ll also want to actively address all complaints quickly and effectively. Social media is a great communication tool, but that means you’ll sometimes get people who have something negative to say about your business. Don’t ignore these – for above and beyond the call of duty to effectively deal with any complaints and turn an unhappy customer into a happy one.

Hopefully, you’ve now seen how important social media could be for you and your business. It’s a hugely important marketing tool that you can start making the most of right away.